This invention relates generally to vibration dampening devices, or stabilizers, for hand-held implements, including, but not limited to, sporting goods, tools, or otherwise, and, specifically, in the preferred embodiment, to stabilizer units for vibration dampening on archery bows. Many, if not most, hand-held devices, in the field of sporting goods, or tools, are subject to inherent vibration, when used in their intended manner for their intended purpose. As an example, hammers and axes, in the field of tools, and bats and rackets, in the field of sporting goods, all generate vibration, when used for their intended purpose. In particular, archery bows, particularly modern, compound bows, generate vibration, upon use, which is multi-directional.
Certainly, the utilization of vibration dampening devices, or stabilizers, generally, is known and, is known particularly in the field of archery. Devices which have been previously utilized to dampen vibration of an archery bow, have utilized moveable pistons, springs, as well as granulated gel modules, and sand, within contained enclosures. Examples of prior art stabilizer applications for archery bows include U.S. Pat. No. 5,617,664, to Troncoso, for a Recoil Absorbing Stabilizer for a Weapon; U.S. Pat. No. 5,524,602, to Papandrea et al, for a Gyro-Kinetic Hydraulic Bow Stabilizer; U.S. Pat. No. 6,021,770, to Sodaro, for a Bow Stabilizer with Game Finder; U.S. Pat. No. 5,595,168, to Martin, for a Dampening Apparatus for an Archery Bow, Handle Riser for an Archery Bow and a Method of Fabricating a Handle Riser for an Archery Bow; U.S. Pat. No. 4,893,606, to Sisko, for a Distributed Mass, Inertial Archery Bow Stabilizer and Vibration Damper; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,570,608, to Masterfield, for an Archery Bow Stabilizer and Vibration Dampener. Relevant prior art, in general, requires use of hydraulics, or springs, in many applications. Applications which may not require use of hydraulics or springs also tend not to be multi-directional dampeners. Existing prior art performance, additionally, may be subject to temperature differentials, and humidity and moisture variation.
Limitations relative to archery applications of vibration dampening devices are applicable, as well, to use with hand-held implements of other types.
Accordingly, a need exists for a vibration dampening device, or stabilizer, suitable for application to the field of archery, and to hand-held implements, generally, which does not contain mechanically connected moving parts, does not contained loose materials, does not require the utilization of springs, or hydraulics, and which will function in generally the same manner under a variety of conditions of temperature and humidity.
The present invention is directed to the provision of a vibration dampening device, or stabilizer unit, which may be used with a variety of hand-held implements, generally, to dampen, or minimize vibration generally attendant to their use, and, specifically, to a stabilizer unit for archery bows, particularly compound archery bows, to provide the same vibration reducing benefits.
The invention vibration dampening device includes a hollow container, of any shape which may be fully enclosed, but which, in the preferred embodiment, is provided in a cylindrical shape. The container has a unitary rigid inner surface, or wall, and a generally corresponding outside surface. The dimensions of the container and its rigid inner surface between its ends define the volume of the container. The container may be of a hollow cylindrical shape, an oval shape, or any other shape which forms an enclosure sufficient, when closed, to contain a defined volume. Within the hollow container is a semi-solid, resiliently elastic, gelatinous mass. The gelatinous mass fills a portion, but not all, of the container. At least two portions of the container remain unfilled by the gelatinous mass, as available space into which the gelatinous mass may expand, before returning, by nature of its resiliency, to its original shape. The gelatinous mass is attached by an adhesive, or other means of attachment, to the interior, unitary wall of the container. An separate adhesive may be used, or the gelatinous mass itself may be composed of a self-adhering substance, so that, upon contact with the inner wall of the container, the portion which contacts the inner wall of the container becomes affixed to it. In the preferred embodiment, where the container member is a hollow cylinder, the gelatinous mass fills the center portion of the cylinder, so that the exterior surface of the gelatinous mass contacts the unitary rigid inner wall of the cylinder completely around its internal circumference and adheres to it, at all points of contact.
In the preferred embodiment, proximately centered within the gelatinous mass is a spherical solid weight. The weight has a density greater than the gelatinous mass and, as stated, is of a solid, non-pliable substance. In the preferred embodiment, the spherical mass, or weight, will be of metal, or other high-density substance.
In the preferred embodiment, there is a cover, or cap, at each end of the cylindrical container. These covers, or caps, when placed on each respective end of the cylindrical container, seal the same from the elements. There is, however, in the preferred embodiment, as stated previously, a space containing no solid substance, between each end of the container and the gelatinous mass, the volume of the gelatinous mass being proximately centered between the respective ends of the cylindrical container.
At the first end of the cylindrical container, attached to the cap, is a means of attachment, which, in the preferred embodiment, is a threaded bolt attachment, which is rotatably inserted and held within a correspondingly threaded nut-type receiver, affixed to the main body of an archery bow. At the second end, the cap provides simply a sealing function, but, to the extent additional weight at a distance from the bow or other hand-held implement is desired, weight in the form of a larger cap, or an addition to the cap, may be added.
In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the gelatinous mass, or resiliently elastic substance, is, preferably, silicone gel, which is generally impervious to normal ranges of temperature differential and/or changes in humidity.
According to a further feature of the invention, when the bow, or other hand-held implement to which the vibration dampening device is attached, vibrates, the solid spherical mass or weight tends, by inertia, to remain at rest, while the vibration dampening device, and the implement to which it is attached, goes in motion. The resilient elastic nature of the gelatinous substance allows relative movement within the cylinder between the higher density solid weight or mass and either end of the cylinder, and/or the interior circumference of the cylinder. In order to facilitate this relative movement, the gel may, at one or more points, compress, or resiliently expand into open areas not containing mass, within the cylinder, and then retract to its original position. This relative movement of the spherical weight or mass, within the gelatinous mass, in relationship to the cylinder, results in a vibration dampening effect of the device.
According to a further feature of the invention, the container within which is held the gelatinous mass, is an enclosed cavity within a handle, or other part, or appendage, of the hand-held implement. In this embodiment, volume of the container is defined by the volume of the cavity, and the gelatinous mass, which, as previously stated, is proximately centered and adhered to a portion of the inner surface of the container, is of a lesser volume than the volume of the cavity itself. In the preferred embodiment, wherein the container is a cavity within the implement itself, it is preferable, though not required, to have more than one portion of the cavity which does not contain a portion of the mass, with such cavities separated from each other by the gelatinous mass.
As will become apparent, from the detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the archery bow vibration dampening stabilizer, or in any vibration dampening application with any other hand-held implement, the vibration dampening effect is multi-directional.